


Chromosomes in Sepia Tones

by NarryEm



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Racism, Mild Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-15 20:41:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1318492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryEm/pseuds/NarryEm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn is just another young lad trying to live in a world that hates his existence.  Louis is a privileged brat who has pissed off his parents one too many times.  When two very different worlds collide, the results can be quite extraordinary.</p><p>Set in the 70s.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chromosomes in Sepia Tones

**Author's Note:**

> title from "Durban Skies" by Bastille.

Zayn really does hate his jobs. Not only does he have to deal with haughty self-righteous people all the time, but he also has to wear the itchy suits all the time. Such is the conditions for working at one of London's most luxurious restaurants. He is fairly sure that he got hired mostly for his good looks and the looks that he gets from the manager confirms that. Not that he's vain or anything, but his life has been harsh for the most part and he knows that most people regard someone of his racial status as nothing more than a pretty face.

He grabs his rucksack that contains his suit and steps out into the cool evening air. He undoes the bike lock and drags it into the lift. One of the good things about living close to the central London is that his flat is close to most of the hotspots in the city. The restaurant he works at is only twenty minutes away, fifteen if the traffic isn't downright despicable. And tonight is one of the lucky days because he arrives at his workplace twenty minutes early. (Zayn usually arrives fifteen to ten minutes early so that he can start early and leave early.)

"Zayn," Niall, his best mate and also one of the assistant manager of the place greets him. "You're early, babe."

Zayn smiles. Niall is one of the most affectionate person he has met and also very open-minded. "Aren't I always. Which section am I working at today?"

Niall looks down at a chart. "The one by the east windows. Lots of reservations tonight and most of them of socialites. Play your cards right and you'll end up raking in thousands of pounds."

They hug briefly before Zayn ducks into the employ locker rooms to change. He's just got his suit dry cleaned and the collar of it feels extra stiff and itchy to him. He grimaces through it and once he's perfected the neck tie, he re-emerges from the room. He's long grown used to the looks that he gets from people. His mother is a beautiful woman and his father is Pakistani. So he's got mixed features, like the golden brown eyes that sometimes look mossy green and his sculpted cheekbones and skin the colour of a milk-heavy latte. 

And the slap on his arse as he walks past a table confirms it.

"Oh good, you're here, Malik," the manager says, sounding very relieved. "We've a new server today and he's gonna need a good trainer. By which I mean you."

Zayn nearly chokes on air. He _hates_ teaching with a passions. Months ago, they had tried to pair him up with some new blonde girl and he had ended up all but tearing her up into shreds. Maybe it didn't help that Zayn and Perrie are good friends and he knows her too well.

"You remember what happened with Perrie right?" Zayn asks, arching a brow.

"And now she's one of our best servers. Please, Zayn? He's from some big-shot family and he is being forced to work here as some kind of punishment. Ever heard of the Tomlinsons?"

Of course Zayn has heard of them. The Tomlinson family practically owns the English economy and their son is renowned for his flamboyant behaviours. According to one of the tabloid magazines that Niall is absolutely addicted to, Louis, the son and heir to their fortunes, has been caught in a compromising situation with a couple blokes inside and outside of the mansion that they live in.

"And I'm the unlucky bastard up for the slaughter," Zayn grumbles.

"I'll double your pay for the duration of his training period," his manager offers. Bitch.

"Fine, throw in one extra break per shift and you've got yourself a deal," he smirks.

"You drive a hard bargain, Malik," she narrows her eyes. "But we are desperate so okay, you can have that.'

"Ta," he blows her a kiss and goes out to the open area.

Louis is easy to spot, his expensive designer suit standing out in the sea of cheap, afforadable ones even amongst the guests. His light brown hair is slicked back to reveal his crystal blue eyes that are glinting with pure malignancy. It's obvious that he abhors being here, where he has to work.

"Hello, my name is Zayn and it appears that I'm your trainer," he introduces himself, offering his hand.

Louis doesn't take it. He glares at him instead, head held in a haughty tilt.

"Listen, if you wanna survive one hour in the restaurant, you better drop the attitude," Zayn warns. "I'll wager that your parents will be delighted to hear that you got sacked on your very first day."

"Alright," Louis huffs.

Zayn can feel the whiplash when Louis drops his rich-person attitude as they near their first table. The little bastard charms the wits out of the middle-aged patron and somehow gets her to order one of the most expensive dishes on the menu, as well as her teenage daughters. Zayn does his part and brings them the drinks, silently awed by Louis' sunny smile. 

"Well you've got potential," he admits.

"That was easy," Louis says flippantly, clipping on the order at the chef's window. "Thought it would be more of a challenge."

"Not all the customers are going to be middle aged women who don't get enough attention from their husbands."

Louis sticks out his tongue, and actually does with crinkled eyes like a four-year-old. "We'll see."

Zayn tries not to look too smug when Louis' tactics doesn't work at all on their next table, a table full of business men dressed in stuffy suits and wearing scowls that could scare away ghosts. Zayn has to take over and of course, they demand to taste about a thousand different kinds of wine before they finally decide on two full bottles of wine. Louis grunts about grungy old men and Zayn has to remind him that he can't talk behind the customers' backs, to which Louis promptly answers with his middle finger.

His five hour shift seems to drag on longer than the usual. But as Niall predicted, with the practised politeness and charming smiles, he fills his pockets with the tips that his customers write on the bills. Louis is bound to get half of it, of course, but it still is good to have the extra income.

"That was exhausting," Louis exclaims as they pile into the back room. He immediately starts to undress, tugging off his half-buttoned dress shirt and then undoing his trousers in a hurry. Zayn at least has the decency to turn around, putting more distance between himself and the brat before he changes his clothes as well.

"Aw, am I bothering you, love?" Louis smirks, and Zayn can feel the body heat radiating against his backside.

"Yes, you ungrateful brat. I saved your arse more than once and you continue to treat me like I'm below you," Zayn spits out.

"Well, I would _love_ to see you below me," Louis says with a conspicuous wink.

Before Zayn can disentangle himself out of this mess, Louis grips the back of his head and pulls him in. The first brush of their lips is foreign because despite his uncertainties when it comes to his sexuality, Zayn has only kissed birds in his time of dire confusion. Louis is different. His lips have got the edge of being rough and the scratch of stubble against his cheeks and chin is definitely new. The fingers at his nape begin to clutch at his hair and Zayn moans, lips parting involuntarily. It's not his fault, not really, that he loves to get his hair pulled. And Louis uses that against him relentlessly, tugging on the ends of his hair and licking into Zayn's mouth with a fervour that shocks Zayn.

They pull apart quickly when they hear the click of the door opening. Zayn blushes, suddenly ashamed. Louis, on the other hand, is grinning.

"This doesn't mean anything," Zayn growls as he takes his rucksack from the locker and storms away.

 

-

Days go by and Zayn learns quickly that Louis is a quick learner. He uses his gorgeous bum to his advantage whenever he walks by the female patrons and smiles at the kids indulgently, and plays well with them too. And to the disgruntled men, he is respectful and conniving behind their backs. Their manager congratulates them both and Zayn has to constantly remind himself of the double figures in his neck paycheck to hold on to his sanity.

Weekend rolls around and Niall is forcing him to go out with him. There is a new nightclub opening downtown and he's already talked Liam and Harry, his other mates, into coming with them. That how Zayn finds himself fretting over his sleeveless t-shirt with a snake design, tight jeans, with a leather jacket thrown over it as an afterthought. Niall impatiently runs up the seven flights of stairs to fetch him and he goes begrudgingly. 

The place is nice, for something so hideously mainstream. A Beatles song comes on every quarter-hour and Zayn is quite bored after an hour. Niall keeps coaxing him to stay with free drinks and well, Zayn can never say no to Jagermeister.

That's also how he finds himself grinding along to some sex-related lyrics with some bloke in the middle of the dance floor. The guy is fit, Zayn will admit. But he doesn't have the studiously perfected hair nor the blue eyes that sparkle with mischief. They dance for several songs and then he leans in to ask fit Zayn wants anything to drink. Zayn says yes and they go together to the bar. The bartender--as well as Liam who is sat on the stool--scowls at him but hands him a rum and coke either way. He tastes way too much coke than rum. The guy tries the hand-on-thigh move and Zayn evades that with a sly look.

"'m not that easy," he half-slurs, lowering his eyelashes in what he hopes is a seductive look.

"And also not yours to look at," a different voice says.

Harry, who has just returned slightly breathless and with lipstick smudged on his mouth, looks surprised. "Lou?"

"Hazza!" Louis says, throwing his arms around Harry. Zayn is thoroughly confused and Liam looks the same. He knows that if Niall were here, he still wouldn't give a damn.

"He's an old mate of mine from my hometown," Harry explains with a shrug. "Didn't know that your Louis was the one I knew."

Louis smirks. "Didn't know that my name was that common over here in the UK. Anyways, Zayn is strictly off limits."

"Says who?" Zayn challenges.

"Says me."

Zayn hasn't a fighting chance when once again, he finds himself kissing Louis. His kisses taste of alcohol tonight, which is some improvement. And he is extra handsy, a small hand sneaking up the back of Zayn's top and he shivers. Louis is something else, really.

"Whoa lads," Niall jeers, and Zayn jumps away from Louis. "Please, at least have the decency to go to the loo to do your filthy deeds. Some of us are trying not to yak all over the place."

"Uh huh," Harry says fondly. "An Irishman who can't hold his drink, someone get the media."

Niall swipes at his head and gets handful of curls. Harry laughs as he leans away, using Liam as a human shield. They are used to his and Liam grunts as he holds Niall's wrists together, preventing him from "harming" Harry any further.

"Aww that's adorable,' Louis coos. Grinning, he asks, "Wanna go back to mine?"

Zayn nearly snorts up his drink. "What gave you the impression that I wanna go _anywhere_ with the likes of you?"

The grin on Louis' face grows even wider. "You know what they say, the line between hate and lust is a fine line thinner than hair."

"When hell freezes over, I'll consider it."

"Ah come on, Malik," Louis smirks. "Indulge me a little."

Zayn glowers. "Fine. But only because I can't be arsed to take the tube back to mine."

 

-

 

Louis' place is impressive. He lives in his own house, which is about the size of two or three houses together. The kitchen, which is in the form of a minibar, takes up most of the first floor and it adjoins to a parlour room that is beautifully lit by the moonlight. 

"A bit too large to live alone, I'll admit," Louis comments. He is already shrugging off his button down and for a second, Zayn wonders if Louis has a thing for showing off his compact lithe little body. "Don't be shy, you're welcome to look," he says when Zayn averts his eyes.

"I'm not like you," he snaps.

"Like what? Fancy men? There's nothing wrong with it, y'know? Love is love, and so is sex. Good sex is good for the soul and all."

Zayn swallows the sudden lump in his throat. Louis is now bare almost everywhere except for the tight black briefs he is wearing. Louis smirks, advancing towards Zayn.

"C'mon, mate. I know that you wanna fuck me. Or will you let me fuck you?"

Zayn really wants Louis to shut up, so he attacks Louis' lips with his own, which is effective and achieving the desired goal. Speaking of desires, his trouser front feels tight and he lets out a relieved groan when Louis reaches down to unzip him. He is quick to discard the trousers and the boxers, dropping to his knees.

"Bet you never had your dick sucked by a chap," Louis winks.

He doesn't wait for an answer before he sucks the tip in, tongue swirling around the slit and relentless. Zayn bites his cheeks as not to moan like a slag and he knows that Louis wants that. Louis wants to break his outer shell and he'll never let him do that. Probably.

The thing is, Louis is really good at giving head and fuck, Zayn wants release already so bad. He grips Louis' hair and shoves inside further, panting as he hits the back of Louis' throat. Louis only swallows around the intrusion expertly, and his fingers are ghosting over Zayn's entrance. He thrusts his hips forward, not really ready for that step yet. The other bloke seems to understand, so he focuses only on the task in his mouth. 

"Fuck Lou," he says breathlessly. "I'm gonna."

"Wait," Louis commands.

He pulls Zayn down and Zayn doesn't know what he is playing at. Until their pricks brush against one another and oh, Louis is slick with pre-come and that's pretty hot. Louis wraps his small hand around the girth of both of them and strokes slowly, thumb teasing at the tips of them. Zayn buries his head into Louis shoulder, muffling the sounds that threaten to escape his mouth via the nibbles and sucking. By the time they are so close to his edge and Zayn pulls back, there is a dark purple bruise already forming at Louis' shoulder.

"Twat," Louis says weakly, twisting his wrist and fuck, Zayn is a goner. He spurts all over Louis' hand and some even gets onto his stomach. Louis moans, coming undone and it's so hot, seeing Louis that vulnerable.

Afterwards, Louis pads away to get a wet flannel and Zayn just lies on the plush dark green carpet, wondering what has led to this. Okay, so the sex with blokes was inevitable but with Louis? How did that come about?

"Here," Louis says, dropping the flannel onto Zayn's stomach. "Hope that this wasn't a one-off, Zaynie. You are quite delicious naked, love."

Zayn scowls. "I wouldn't push it if I were you."

Louis laughs. "Oh but pushing is what I do best."

 

-

 

So maybe, just maybe, Zayn likes Louis. It becomes painfully obvious because his heart skips a beat whenever he sees Louis smile or god forbid, smile at him, and he's reduced to a blushing mess who can't speak clearly. He's glad that is tanned complexion makes it difficult for people to see him blushing at least. 

"Just ask 'im out," Niall urges, taking a sip of his Guiness.

"Nialler," Harry says fondly. "You can't be that blunt. Zayner hasn't dated anyone in a while and he's scared to even admit that he likes dicks and not boobs."

The blond huffs. "Beatin' around th' bush ain't doin' nothin' either. At this rate, Lou'll get bored and find himself a new playmate. And yes, we know that you been doin' snuff together. It's kinda obvious, if that look in ya eyes is of any indication."

Zayn sputters. Liam slaps his back to help him not choke on the beer he's been drinking.

"You lot are insufferable," he declares. "Why am I even friends with you?"

"It's me Irish charm," Niall gloats.

Sadly, it's partially true.

 

-

 

It's Louis who asks him out first. It's nothing big, just a coffee date after their lunch shift. It's nerve-wrecking because Zayn is wearing a ratty pair of jeans and an old jumper that has seen way better jeans. Louis, on the other hand, has on some posh shirt and jeans that probably is the cost of Zayn's entire rent for a month.

"Relax," Louis soothes, as they wait for their caffeinated drinks and a slice of red velvet cake they are going to share. "I like you a lot, or I wouldn't have been inviting you over for sleepovers."

"A bit backwards, innit?" Zayn jokes.

"Whatever. I hate traditions anyway," Louis shrugs, smiling at the server as she arrives with a tray full of their order. "Ta love."

Zayn doesn't miss the flirty wink directed towards them both. Louis cackles. "Ah come on. A lad like you, people must be falling over themselves to get noticed by you."

"That's all I'm good for in this society anyway," Zayn says darkly. For a moment, the mirth in Louis blue blue eyes disappears.

"Shite, sorry mate. I was only joking."

"Yeah I know. And I was being a downer."

"Is this a bad time to say that I'm sorta been in love with you for months now?"

Zayn shrugs. "I dunno. I've been feeling that way for a while now so I wouldn't be averse to that."

"Brill. Well, then. I love you, you ridiculously beautiful human being. I envy you sometimes, because you aren't entitled to anything. You're free to do anything you wish whilst I'm bound by my family ties."

"Doesn't sound too bad," Zayn says carefully. "And I love you too."

"Perfect. Now that we've addressed the elephant in the room, lemme give you the best shag of your life."

Zayn laughs. Sometimes, Louis is crazy but Zayn supposes that he loves that too.

He loves everything about Louis, as annoying as that sometimes can be.

 

-

 

"You two are disgusting," Niall comments.

Zayn smiles sheepishly, because he at least has the decency to. Louis, on the other hand, doesn't. He smirks and goes back to kiss Zayn on the cheek wetly.

"If you got it, flaunt it," he says and he drops his head to mouth at the giant hickey on the side of Zayn's neck. Zayn hisses and pushes Louis away, tugging at the collar of his shirt to hide it. Louis has just given him it this morning and it still hurts like a fucker. Louis can be downright intolerable at times.

Too bad they are far too gone for each other.

"This is why we need a girlfriend," Harry sighs, coming with some bottles of beer. 'Some day, we're gonna pay them back."

"Until then," Louis flourishes his hand. Zayn only laughs as they resume their kiss.


End file.
